Apparatus for alternatively securing irregular cargo and standard shipping containers

ABSTRACT

Irregularly shaped and dimensioned cargo and standardized shipping containers are tied down to the deck of a vessel or the like by installing on deck a tie-down plate which has a first, cross-shaped cutout defined by opposing pairs of communicating cutout arms and a superimposed, substantially rectangular second cutout aligned with the first cutout. Irregular cargo is secured by placing a bulb hook in one of the cutout arms. The bulb hook has a cylindrical base of greater diameter than the width of the cutout arms, an integral shaft extending through the cutout arms and an angularly inclined arm that terminates in an eyelet to which tie-down rope, cable, chain, etc. is secured. For securing standard shipping containers a corner cone is inserted into the superimposed rectangular opening in the plate. An upwardly protruding portion of the cone engages a mating aperture in a corner fitting of the container. The corner cone can be locked to prevent vertical withdrawal of the cone while engaged with a container.

United States Patent I Shields Mar. 12, 1974 [75] Inventor;

[ APPARATUS FOR ALTERNATIVELY SECURING IRREGULAR CARGO AND STANDARDSHIPPING CONTAINERS Charles J. Shields, Oakland, Calif.

[73] Assignee: States Steamship Company, San

Francisco, Calif.

[22] Filed: Apr. 20, I972 [21] App1.No.: 246,015

[52] US. Cl. 248/36] R, 248/119 R, 248/361 A [51] Int. Cl B65j 1/22 [58]Field of Search...'..... 248/361 R, 361 A, 119 R,

248/25; IDS/369A, 368 T; 280/179 A;

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,856,866 10/1958 Hall105/369 A 3,331,333 7/1967 Coulson.. 248/361 R 3,215,390 11/1965Shetler.... 248/361 R 3,709,156 1/1973 Bowens.... 105/369 A 2,723,63111/1955 Allen 105/369 A 2,736,272 2/1956 Elsner 105/369 A FOREIGNPATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 826,457 1/1960 Great Britain ..248/361A PrimaryExaminerEdward C. Allen Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Townsend and Townsend[5 7] ABSTRACT irregularly shaped and dimensioned cargo and standardizedshipping containers are tied down to the deck of a vessel or the like byinstalling on deck a tiedown plate which has a first, cross-shapedcutout defined by opposing pairs of communicating cutout arms anda'superimposed, substantially rectangular second cutout aligned with thefirst cutout. Irregular cargo is secured by placing a bulb hook in oneof the cutout arms. The bulb hook has a cylindrical base of greaterdiameter than the width of the cutout arms, an integral shaft extendingthrough the cutout arms and an angularly inclined arm that terminates inan eyelet to which tie-down rope, cable, chain, etc. is secured. For

securing standard shipping containers a corner cone is inserted into thesuperimposed rectangular opening in the plate. An upwardly protrudingportion of the cone engages a mating aperture in a corner fitting of thecontainer. The corner cone can be locked to prevent vertical withdrawalof the cone while engaged with a container.

12 Claims, 6 Drawing Figures APPARATUS FOR ALTERNATIVELY SECURINIRREGULAR CARGO AND STANDARD SHIPPING CONTAINERS BACKGROUND OF THEINVENTION Today ocean freight moves increasingly in economical,standardized shipping containers. Nevertheless, for

a combination of reasons such as the absence of container handlingequipment in many ports, insufficient land transportion .for the largecontainers in some parts of the world, a shortage of containers, etc., asubstantial portion of all ocean freight is and will continue to beconventionally shipped, that is, in irregularly sized and shapedpackages, boxes, bales and the like. For secure shipping both thecontainer and the irregular cargo must be safely secured on deck.

Containers are secured by placing them on container cones, that is,relatively small upright steel cones anchored or removably mounted tothe deck. Irregular cargo is secured with posts, braces, rope, cable andthe like. An advantageous tie-down device for irregular cargo is aclover leaf plate installed on deck. Clover leaf plates havecross-shaped cutouts into which bulb hooks are placed. The bulb hook hasan eyelet through which rope, cable and the like is threaded for tyingdown the cargo.

Many vessels carry both containers and irregular cargo. The prior artrequires the installation of separate tie-down devices for thecontainers and for the cargo.

On large vessels this can amount to thousands of such separate devicesand is costly.

A further problem encountered with prior art conventional cargo tie-downdevices is the construction of bulb hooks which usually have a cross barof a greater length than the width of thecutout arms, an L-shaped memberprotruding through the cutout arms and cnnected with the cross bar, andan eyelet positioned at the free end of the member. These devicesexhibit weakness when subjected to large loads as sometimes encounteredwhen the vessel is in heavy waters. Moreover, there is a danger that thebulk hook rotates about the'upright portion of the L-shaped member dueto shifting cargo loads which can disengage the cross bar from theclover leaf plate. The cargo tie-down is thus lost permitting the cargoto move which is a serious safety hazard.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides apparatus foralterna tively securing conventional, irregular cargo or a standardizedshipping container to a plate installed on the deck of the ship. Thus,the number of such plates on a ship can be greatly reduced to effectcorresponding cost savings. The device is simple to use andsubstantially facilitates the loading and unloading of the ship as wellas the ease with which the ship is converted for carrying one or theother type of cargo.

The invention employs the versatile clover leaf tiedown plates. Arectangualr cutout is concentrically superimposed over the conventionalcross-shaped cutout. The rectangular cutout is dimensioned to receiveshipping container positioning cones and is symmetric with respect tothe sets of opposing pairs of cutout arms.

For purposes of this disclosure the term rectangular cutout means andincludes both square cutouts, in which corners of the cutouts areequidistant, and rectangular cutouts in which the spacing betweenadjacent corners'is unequal.

In use, the plate is installed on the deck of the vessel above arecessed space to provide access to the underside of the plate throughthe cutouts. For use with irregular cargo a bulb hook is inserted in oneof the cutout arms. The bulb hook has a cylindrical base of a diame tergreater than the width of the cutout arms, an integral, perpendicularshaft extending from the base which has a diameter less than the widthof the cutout arms, and an arm that terminates in an eyelet. The arm isintegral with and angularly inclined less than with respect to theshaft. The cargo is secured by threading rope, cable, etc., through theeyelet and pulling it against the cargo. The cylindrical base preventsaccidental disengagement of the bulb hook even if the bulb hook rotatesabout the shaft. Moreover, the angular inclination of less than 90between the shaft axis and the axis of the'arm substantially reduces thestress at the junction between them. Thus, the danger of breakage due tooverstressing is substantially reduced or eliminated.

For use of the clover leaf plate with a standard shipping container, acontainer positioning cone which has a lower portion having a crosssection that is smaller than the outline of the rectangular cutout islowered into the rectangular cutout in the plate. An upper portion ofthe cone projects above the plate for engaging a mating aperture in acorner fitting of the container. The lower portion of the cone isundercut and includes a short flange which can be rotated about the axisof the cone to place the cone into a container receiving position and tothereby simultaneously lock the cone to the plate against removal fromthe rectangular cutout.

The rectangular cutout in the plate is formed by recessed, perpendicularwall sections located between sides of each contiguous pair of arms ofthe first cutout. The wall sections define corners of the rectangularcutout and they are aligned with the wall sections defining the adjacentcorners of the rectangular cutout. The wall sections are preferablysymmetric with respect to the arms of the cross-shaped cutout.

The construction of the clover leaf plate is simple and inexpensive.Moreover, existing and already installed clover leaf plates can bereworked so that such plates can be used for positioning standardshipping containers. To rework the plate the perpendicular wall recessesare simply cut into the plate. This operation is readily andinexpensively performed without the need for removal of the plate fromthe deck or its replacement with a new one.

BREIF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. I is a plan view of a clover leaftype tie-down plate constructed in accordance with the invention;

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the plate and is taken on line 22 ofFIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a perspective, elevation view of a containersecuring cone;

FIG. 4 is a perspective elevational view of a bulb hook constructed inaccordance with the invention for use in the clover leaf plate shown inFIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary, elevational view of the tiedown system of thepresent invention for securing shipping containers; and

FIG. 6 is a view similar to FIG. 5 but illustrates the system of theinvention for securingirregular cargo.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring first to FIGS. 5 and6, two general types of cargo are nowadays carried by ocean-goingvessels. First, conventional, irregular cargo 8 such as irregularlydimensioned and shaped boxes, crates, bales or individual items and,second, standardized shipping containers 10 which are of standardizeddimensions and shapes. Each such shipping container includes standardcorner fittings 12 which have elongate apertures 14 for engagement bycontainer positioning cones 16.

In accordance with the present invention, a clover leaf type tie-downplate 18 is installed on a deck 20 of a vessel 22 above a recessed space24 in the deck. For securing irregular cargo 8, bulb hooks 26 areattached to the tie-down plate in the manner more fully describedhereinafter. The bulb hooks include eyelets 28 at their free endsthrough which rope 30, cable or the like is threaded. The rope is tiedagainst the irregular cargo to secure it on deck and prevent it fromsliding when thhe vessel pitches or rolls in rough seas.

Container 10 is also secured with a cover leaf type tie-down plate 18mounted to deck 20. Instead of a bulb hook a container positioning cone16 is demountably secured to the tie-down plate. The cone engages theelongate aperture (not shown) in the lower corner fitting and is lockedagainst removal from the tie-down plate as long as it is engaged by thecontainer. The positioning cone prevents the container from moving onthe deck even if the ship is in rough seas.

Referring now to FIGS. 1 and 2, tie-down plate 18 is circular andincludes a bevel 32 for butt welding the plate into a floor member ondeck of a vessel. A generally cross-shaped cutout 34 is located at thecenter of the plate and has pairs of opposing, contiguous cutout arms36. The arms terminate at semicircular ends 38 and are of a uniformlength and width. In conventional prior art tie-down plates sides 40 ofthe cutout arms terminate in edges or comers 42 (illustrated in FIG. 1in phantom lines).

A rectangular second cutout 44 partially shown in phantom lines) issuperimposed over the cross-shaped cutout, aligned therewith andsymmetric with respect to the arm pairs of cutout 34. The rectangularcutout is defined by perpendicular wall sections 46, 48 which formrecesses 50 at each edge 42 between contiguous cutout arm sides 40. Theintersection of each perpendicular wall pair 46, 48 forms one of thefour corners 52 of the rectangular cutout. For instances in which therectangular cutout is rectangular, as contrasted with being square, wall46 is longer than wall 48 so that the distance between opposing longwalls 46 define the width of the rectangular cutout. That width must begreater than the width of cutout arms 36.

Tie-down plate 18 for use with conventional shipping containers oflength up to 40 feet has a thickness of 0.75 inch for adequate strength.Each arm of the crossshaped cutout has a width of L5 inches with acombined length of each pair of opposing cutout arms of about 8.25inches. A 2.5 inch wide by 5.25 inch long rectangular cutout 44 issuperimposed over the crossshaped cutout. With the given plate thicknessand cutout dimensions, particularly the width of the rectangular cutout,and a plate diameter of about 12.5 inches the plate exhibits sufficientrigidity and strength to safely secure even the largest standardshipping containers on deck even if only two tie-down plates positionedat diagonal corners of the container are used instead of employing fourpositioning cones for securing the container.

Referring now to FIGS. 1, 2 and 4, a bulb hook 26 constructed inaccordance with the present invention generally comprises a cylindricalbase 54 and a cylindrical shaft 56 that extends perpendicularly awayfrom the base. The shaft has a diameter slightly less than the width ofcutout arm 36 of tie plate 18. For the plate illustrated in FIG. 1, theshaft diameter is preferably about 1.5 to 1.625 inch. The cylindricalbase, on the other hand, has a diameter greater that the width of thecutout arm, preferably about 3 inches.

An upwardly and outwardly directed arm 58 of the bulb hook extends fromand is integrally constructed with shaft 56. The arm terminates ineyelet 28 which includes an aperture 60 fo connecting ropes, cables andthe like to the eyelet and the bulb hook. The angle a between the axisof shaft 56 and arm 58 is preferably between about 15 to about 45 fromthe vertical to reduce the stressing of transition 62 between the shaftand the arm and to facilitate the tie-down of irregular cargo. Optimalresults have been obtained by making angle a 45.

Referring to FIGS. 1-3, container positioning cone 60 generallycomprises a lower half or portion 64, an upper half 66 and a generallyrectangular central body plate 68. The upper portion of the coneincludes inclined sides 70 which facilitate the centering of thecontainer on the cone and an aperture 72 for locking the cone to thecontainer corner fitting with a suitable locking pin (not shown).

The lower half 64 of the container cone is a generally rectangular base74 which is angularly offset with respect to the upper cone portion. Asection 76 of the base disposed between body plate 68 and the lower endof the base is cut back along a plane 78 which is aligned withlongitudinal sides 80 of the upper cone half to a point short of thelower base end to thereby define flanges 82 which are parallel to thebody plate.

Turning now to the use of the tie-down system of the present inventionand referring to FIGS. 1-6, bulb hook 26 is used for the tie-down ofirregular cargo by grasping its arm 58, aligning base 54 with one of thepairs of cutout arms 36 and tilting the bulb hook so that the base canbe slid through such arm pair while part of the shaft 56 enters one ofthe cutout arms. Once the base is completely beneath tie-down plate 80the hook is returned to its upright position and moved into the desiredcutout arm 36 until shaft 56 rests against the semicircular end 38 ofsuch arm. Thereafter the cargo is secured in the above-mentioned mannerwith a rope, cable, etc., extending through aperture 60 in eyelet 28.The tension on the rope biases the base against the underside of thetie-down plate and against the semicircular cutout arm ends and preventsany movement of both the bulb hook and the cargo.

To secure a standard shipping container 10 to the same tie-down platethe bulb hook is removed by reversing the steps outlined in thepreceding paragraph and a positioning cone 60 is placed on top of theplate. The rectangular base 74 is aligned with rectangular cutout 44 inthe tie-down plate and the cone is dropped downwardly until body plate68 rests on the tie-down plate. In this position the upper cone half 66is inclined relative to the rectangular cutout by the angle with whichrectangular base 74 is offset from the upper cone portion. The cone isnow rotated about its vertical axis until recessed planes 78 engage thecorresponding long walls 46 of the rectangular cutout. In that positionflanges 82 on the lower cone half extend beneath the tie-down plate sothat the cone cannot be vertically removed from the plate. The containeris now placed on top of the cone and locks thereto with a locking pin(not shown). In this manner the container is safely and efficientlysecured to the tie-down plate on deck.

I claim:

1. A system for securing cargo to a deck of a vessel or the like, thecargo including general, irregularly dimensioned cargo and standardizedshipping containers having corner fittings, the system comprising aplurality of tie-down plates secured to the deck above a recessed spacein the deck to provide access to an underside of the plate, the platehaving a first cross-shaped cutout defined by' communicating opposingpairs of cutout arms and a second cutout superimposed on and axiallyaligned with the first cutout having a generally rectangularconfiguration and a width greater than a width of the cutout arms, abulb hook defined by a base having a transverse dimension greater thanthe width of the cutout arms, an integral, perpendicular shaft extendingfrom the base and having a diameter less than the width of the cutoutarms, and an arm terminating in an eyelet integral with and angularlyinclined less than 90 with respect to the shaft, and a container conehaving a lower portion with a cross section permitting insertion of thecone into the second cutout and an upper portion projecting above theplate for engaging an aperture in a container corner fitting, wherebyirregular cargo such as boxes, bales and the like is secured by p0-sitioning the base of the bulb hook in the space beneath the plate,sliding the bulb hook to an end of one of the arms and tying such cargoto the eyelet of the hook, and a standard shipping container is securedto the plate by inserting the lower portion of the cone in the secondcutout and engaging the corner fitting of the container with the uppercone portion.

2. A system according to claim 1 wherein the second cutout is symmetricwith respect to the arm pairs of the first cutout.

3. A system according to claim 1 wherein the bulb hook base has acylindrical configuration and a diameter greater than the width of thecutout arms, and wherein the base is concentric with the shaft.

4. A system according to claim 3 wherein the angle of inclinationbetween the shaft and the bulb hook arm is between about to about 45.

5. A system according to claim 1 including means defined by the lowerportion permitting a limited rotation of the cone about an axis which isperpendicular to the plate, and means defined by the lower portionpreventing withdrawalof the cone from the second cutout when the cone isrotated into one of the terminal positions of its rotational movement.

6. A system according to claim 5 wherein the means preventing the conewithdrawal comprises a flange substantially parallel to the plate at anend of the lower portion.

7. A bulb hook for use with clover leaf type tie-down plates comprisinga cylindrical base and a cylindrical shaft of a lesser diameter than thediameter of the base extending perpendicularly and concentrically fromthe base, an arm integrally constructed with the shaft and angularlyinclined therefrom at an angle of less than and an eyelet integrallyconstructed with and disposed at a free end of the arm.

8. A bulb hook according to claim 7, wherein the angular inclinationbetween the shaft and the arm is between about l5 to about 45.

9. A bulb hook according to claim 8 wherein the angle of inclinationbetween the shaft and the arm is about 30.

10. A clover leaf plate for installation in a floor of a shippingvehicle and for securing against movement irregular cargo andconventional shipping containers having corner fittings interengageablewith container cones comprising a plate having a centrally located firstcutout defined by at least two elongate cutout arms extending from acenter of the plate in opposing directions and terminating in endportions of a given width, and a second, superimposed rectangular cutoutimpressed over the first cutout, the second cutout having a lesserlength than the first cutout, the second cutout being defined byopposing, spaced apart sides of equal length which are parallel to thearms, the sides being further spaced apart at a distance greater thansaid given width so that the plate can be used alternatively with a bulbhook protruding through the end portion of one of the arms and engagingpart of the plate defining the end portion or with a standard shippingcontainer cone extending through the second, superimposed rectangularcutout and engaging a portion of the plate defining the sides.

ll. Apparatus according to claim 10 wherein the arms have a width ofabout 1.75 inches and a length of about 8.25 inches, and wherein therectangular cutout has a width of about 2.5 inches and a length of about5.25 inches.

12. Apparatus according to claim 10 wherein the plate is round and has adiameter of at least about 12 inches, wherein the cutout arms have awidth of about 1 A inches, wherein the rectangular cutout width is about2.5 inches, and wherein the plate has a thickness of at least about 0.75inches.

1. A system for securing cargo to a deck of a vessel or the like, thecargo including general, irreGularly dimensioned cargo and standardizedshipping containers having corner fittings, the system comprising aplurality of tie-down plates secured to the deck above a recessed spacein the deck to provide access to an underside of the plate, the platehaving a first cross-shaped cutout defined by communicating opposingpairs of cutout arms and a second cutout superimposed on and axiallyaligned with the first cutout having a generally rectangularconfiguration and a width greater than a width of the cutout arms, abulb hook defined by a base having a transverse dimension greater thanthe width of the cutout arms, an integral, perpendicular shaft extendingfrom the base and having a diameter less than the width of the cutoutarms, and an arm terminating in an eyelet integral with and angularlyinclined less than 90* with respect to the shaft, and a container conehaving a lower portion with a cross section permitting insertion of thecone into the second cutout and an upper portion projecting above theplate for engaging an aperture in a container corner fitting, wherebyirregular cargo such as boxes, bales and the like is secured bypositioning the base of the bulb hook in the space beneath the plate,sliding the bulb hook to an end of one of the arms and tying such cargoto the eyelet of the hook, and a standard shipping container is securedto the plate by inserting the lower portion of the cone in the secondcutout and engaging the corner fitting of the container with the uppercone portion.
 2. A system according to claim 1 wherein the second cutoutis symmetric with respect to the arm pairs of the first cutout.
 3. Asystem according to claim 1 wherein the bulb hook base has a cylindricalconfiguration and a diameter greater than the width of the cutout arms,and wherein the base is concentric with the shaft.
 4. A system accordingto claim 3 wherein the angle of inclination between the shaft and thebulb hook arm is between about 15* to about 45*.
 5. A system accordingto claim 1 including means defined by the lower portion permitting alimited rotation of the cone about an axis which is perpendicular to theplate, and means defined by the lower portion preventing withdrawal ofthe cone from the second cutout when the cone is rotated into one of theterminal positions of its rotational movement.
 6. A system according toclaim 5 wherein the means preventing the cone withdrawal comprises aflange substantially parallel to the plate at an end of the lowerportion.
 7. A bulb hook for use with clover leaf type tie-down platescomprising a cylindrical base and a cylindrical shaft of a lesserdiameter than the diameter of the base extending perpendicularly andconcentrically from the base, an arm integrally constructed with theshaft and angularly inclined therefrom at an angle of less than 90*, andan eyelet integrally constructed with and disposed at a free end of thearm.
 8. A bulb hook according to claim 7, wherein the angularinclination between the shaft and the arm is between about 15* to about45*.
 9. A bulb hook according to claim 8 wherein the angle ofinclination between the shaft and the arm is about 30*.
 10. A cloverleaf plate for installation in a floor of a shipping vehicle and forsecuring against movement irregular cargo and conventional shippingcontainers having corner fittings interengageable with container conescomprising a plate having a centrally located first cutout defined by atleast two elongate cutout arms extending from a center of the plate inopposing directions and terminating in end portions of a given width,and a second, superimposed rectangular cutout impressed over the firstcutout, the second cutout having a lesser length than the first cutout,the second cutout being defined by opposing, spaced apart sides of equallength which are parallel to the arms, the sides being further spacedapart at a distance greater than said given width so that the Plate canbe used alternatively with a bulb hook protruding through the endportion of one of the arms and engaging part of the plate defining theend portion or with a standard shipping container cone extending throughthe second, superimposed rectangular cutout and engaging a portion ofthe plate defining the sides.
 11. Apparatus according to claim 10wherein the arms have a width of about 1.75 inches and a length of about8.25 inches, and wherein the rectangular cutout has a width of about 2.5inches and a length of about 5.25 inches.
 12. Apparatus according toclaim 10 wherein the plate is round and has a diameter of at least about12 inches, wherein the cutout arms have a width of about 1 3/4 inches,wherein the rectangular cutout width is about 2.5 inches, and whereinthe plate has a thickness of at least about 0.75 inches.